We Needed This

Man did we ever. Great job by the offense today. Bevell must read .NET because suddenly Graham was a big part of the gameplan and not just blocking. Dougie Fresh, what can I say? 164 yards? STUD. I wore my #89 home jersey at the game with pride today.

Without having seen the game yet on TV, I was pretty upset that Russ didn't throw the ball away to avoid that knee injury. There was apparently no chance for a first down, he was well out of the box, THROW THE BALL AWAY!!!

Other than that, he looked really good today. Solid for someone who is maybe 80%.

The OL did a much better job in pass pro and run protection but then again we weren't facing the Miami or LA front. Still, give them credit for doing a nice job overall today.

The defense continues to be lights out but getting to the QB remains a sour point. We just can't seem to get home even against sub par OL's and QB's. I don't rank the 49ers as all that great in either category although admittedly Gabbert has won here and he can scramble.

Despite the 15 garbage points on their final two drives (grrrr)m the defense is number one in the NFL for a reason. Hopefully they broke the seal with their first turnover of the year.

All-in-all this is just what the doctor ordered if for no other reason so .NET is palpable over the next week.

If it makes you feel any better about the lack of pass rush, the 49ers o-line was blatantly holding for much of the game. It doesn't make me feel much better because that never gets called in our favor.

Yep. Only criticism of Russ is not knowing when to get rid of it.

The lack of pass rush was more about the quick passing game by SF.

And yes, the holding against us was obvious today.

Russ will be an invalid by mid season if something doesn't happen with this OL..

Wilson injury aside this game was so damn enjoyable. Baldwin is a Top 10 WR in this league. So happy for Jimmy to finally break out and it just looked seamless, not forced (HUGE considering Bevell's tendency to do that) and the defense was downright dominant aside from the end when they took the foot off the gas.

Now to just hope Russ avoided a serious injury and survive a really difficult road game next week

Farklin' A we did... I was beginning to doubt things. I still doubt Earl and we need more turnovers and we need for Boykin not to play.

But yeah, I needed this, we needed this.

FlyingGreg":2w5q79mt said:

Yep. Only criticism of Russ is not knowing when to get rid of it.

The lack of pass rush was more about the quick passing game by SF.

And yes, the holding against us was obvious today.

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you weren't kidding, especially against Bennett-guy was getting to the backfield alot but just couldn't get home.

Yeah those holding penalties are atrocious. Total drive killers. Overall improvement though from last week so I am happy with that but these dang penalties need to be dealt with.

YES, WE DID!

Let's all hope this is a sign of things to come, and not a one game aberration. What I will say is that the most gratifying thing today was that the offense both in game planning, play calls and execution was far more aggressive than we saw in our first two games.

For me that means more than any other aspect of this game, save the score.

The defense play great and also seemed to be more aggressive other than the last quarter. I'm not concerned about the last two Niner scores as it was garbage time and it showed.

All in all very encouraging! :irishdrinkers:

Good post. We sure did need it, the OL needed to get a good game to get their confidence up.

I'm also troubled about the pass rush, but I think it will get better. There really is no answer to why the refs don't respect Bennett enough to watch him closely; everyone else in the league thinks he's a top 5 DLman.

The other troubling thing about our defense is the lack of turn overs, specifically the lack of fumbles caused. In watching the game, then rewatching some highlights around the league, I theorize that our guys are trying to lay huge hits and knock guys out. I rarely see us try to poke the ball out like a lot of other defenses do. This is on Richard to emphasize this.

The thing that always amazed me watching Jimmy Graham early in his career is how strong his hands were. Brees would throw into the tiniest window and he'd always come out with the ball. It seems like Russ is starting to form that same sense of trust with him.

I'm not super worried about the lack of pass rush yesterday. Blaine Gabbert is an awful QB. He wasn't going to make a throw longer than 5 yards and predictably the ball came out very early. I am unhappy with how well Hyde did to finish the game (and so was Kris Richard who I saw screaming at the team after his first TD) but it was over by half time.

Doug is a terrific player and his rapport with Russ is awesome. I think he was actually pretty hurt in week 2.

Christine Michael has to be one of the most gifted athletes in the NFL. It's awesome watching him develop the smarts for the NFL game (and truly, he is very lucky to get this second chance. so many RBs with crazy athletic ability don't get it at this level and flame out). He just has that second level burst not many people do. If he keeps working at it, which we've heard he's becoming Russell-like in that sense, he could be something special. Especially in a PC style offense.

Sherm dropped an easy pick, was pretty disappointed we didn't get to see him celebrate it. I'm very excited for Ryan Fitzpatrick this week, he doesn't care at all about throwing into bad coverage.

A lot of these things were able to happen because the 49ers suck, it is that simple.

Hawk-Lock":24uuq563 said:

A lot of these things were able to happen because the 49ers suck, it is that simple.

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That may end up being true.

You can still build off of a win, even over a crappy team. We needed something to build on, after squeaking one win out, and crapping the bed in the next game. We have a lot of younger guys on our team, and they need experience and confidence performing in an NFL game.

Hawks46":16n7md2b said:

Hawk-Lock":16n7md2b said:

A lot of these things were able to happen because the 49ers suck, it is that simple.

Click to expand...

That may end up being true.

You can still build off of a win, even over a crappy team. We needed something to build on, after squeaking one win out, and crapping the bed in the next game. We have a lot of younger guys on our team, and they need experience and confidence performing in an NFL game.

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100% agree. Sometimes you just need to play a bad team as a confidence builder. There was no better time to play the 49ers than in week 3. But to think all our problems are fixed would be foolish.

The OC finally did some of the things that people were frustrated with him because he did not do in the first place.

But again, it is the 49ers.

Their own fans consider them a dumpster fire.

But they did beat them. Not sure what that proves other than the Seahawks are better than terrible. We still have not clarified whether they are good or very good yet. Certainly, nothing we have seen all year screams "SB Contender" but we have games to play yet (assuming Wilson can get both legs healthy again).

Aros":1qj7710t said:

... I was pretty upset that Russ didn't throw the ball away to avoid that knee injury. There was apparently no chance for a first down, he was well out of the box, THROW THE BALL AWAY!!!

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I love Russ and would NOT want ANY OTHER QB for our team. However, he drives me crazy with his tendency not to throw the ball away when he rolls out.

This was one instance when he should have thrown it away but there are lots of instances from last year when he would roll out to the sidelines and run out of bounds to take a 2-3 yd loss. It is just maddening because his football IQ is so high in just about every other area.

Hopefully someone on the coaching staff is working with him on that aspect of his game, cause that injury should NEVER have happened.